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The European Financial Stability Facility has opened books for its longest bond issue to date - a benchmark-sized, euro denominated 20-year-deal. This is its first stab at selling ultra-long bonds and a crucial test of investor appetite for Europe's rescue fund.

The issuer mandates BNP Paribas, Commerzbank and DZ Bank as the lead managers for the trade, which will have a maximum size of 1.5 billion euros. The three banks held an investor call with the borrower on Monday morning, to get investor feedback on a potential long-dated issue. The transaction is the first of a three-pronged bond sale under consideration, and will extend the EFSF's curve by 10 years.

The rescue fund had been contemplating a 30-year deal, but appears to have settled for a slightly shorter and less risky maturity instead. The lead managers went out with guidance of 120 basis point area over mid-swap which should give a coupon of around 4 percent, a yield that tends to attract insurance companies - the usual big buyers of long-dated issues. The new bond is set to be priced later today.

Central banks are taking advantage of the fact that the price of gold dropped 3 percent last week. Reuters said that central banks bought about $250 million worth of gold last week through the Bank for International Settlements.

Eric Holder: Targeted Killings Of American Citizens Legal And Constitutional

The Obama Administration made its most detailed case yet for the targeted killing of US citizens and foreign nationals overseas. US Attorney General Eric Holder argued on Monday that the killings— conducted without judicial review—are constitutional. Holder defended the administration's controversial policy on national security grounds at a speech at Northwestern University law school.

http://youtube.com/user/cfini72?feature=mhee#p/f/1/iTjanpWMG4ARon Hera took time out today, 3/6/12, to review the latest action in gold and silver as well as the mining stocks. Ron's unfazed by the latest smack-downs. The first slam-down was certainly sponsored, and the current decline was most likely dollar related. What happens next is really the issue, however, Ron sees tremendous value in a number of mining shares that have been beaten up in the recent market action. According to its latest filings, there's a company that's sitting on 6 million ounces.

http://nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/03/no_lawmaker_files_bill_to_give.htmlThe emergency powers of the governor to call out National Guard troops would be expanded to activate soldiers when urban murder rates in the state soar, under a bill filed by Rep. Austin Badon, D-New Orleans. House Bill 758 says that any city with a population of more than 200,000 having a "murder rate of 45 persons per every 100,000" fits the definition of an emergency that would allow the governor to activate the guard or "utilize state law enforcement resources" to help local police.